Is it worth doing a master’s degree in journalism? Apparently, it is worth it, at least financially:
As Mindy McAdams notes in a post on the job outlook for journalism graduates:
New U.S. graduates with a bachelor’s degree in journalism or mass communication had a median annual salary of $30,000, according to a survey of spring 2006 graduates. New graduates with a master’s degree in journalism or mass communication had a median annual salary of $38,000.
As a professor at a graduate School of Journalism, I would recommend doing a master’s degree, but not due to the prospect of a higher salary. A master’s degree offers an opportunity to develop your critical skills. Good journalism is far more than just reporting the news. It is about analysing, understanding and making sense of the world around us.
The UBC Graduate School of Journalism where I teach is a great place to learn these skills. And Vancouver has much to recommend it as a place to live too.
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Good points about developing critical thinking skills. This helped me tremendously when I got my master’s degree. I became a better editor.
A graduate degree is also useful if you want to teach. It’s very difficult to get a teaching job at a U.S. university with just a bachelor’s degree.